saraberri

I don't know how it works for women, but I very much subscribe to the Iron John definition of manhood: You're a grown-up when you wear a scar your mother couldn't heal.

I'd argue it is neither chronological, nor experiential, but rather biological. To me chronology implies set times for each, but biological is very much subjective. One person may reach biological maturity before another. As for what I mean by biological, it's at the point where reproduction (or at least the act thereof) becomes present or relevant to your life. It's the point in any parents life that is like a hinge on their child's development A.K.A. "The big talk". When you begin to see girls/boys in a different light, priorities and methods change. Suddenly pangs of vanity and self esteem come flooding in. Your body changes, your mind changes, hormones ablaze. I think that is when you transition from a child to the next step.